Shloka 4
Description and Measurements of Śākadvīpa
with Oceans, Mountains, Varṣas, and Rivers
अष्टादशसहस्राणि योजनानि द्विजोत्तमाः । षट्शतानि च पूर्णानि विष्कंभो जंबुपर्वतः
aṣṭādaśasahasrāṇi yojanāni dvijottamāḥ | ṣaṭśatāni ca pūrṇāni viṣkaṃbho jaṃbuparvataḥ
ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! ജംബുപർവതത്തിന്റെ വീതി പതിനെട്ടായിരം യോജന; അതിനുമേൽ പൂർണ്ണമായി ആറുനൂറ് (യോജന) കൂടി ഉണ്ട്।
Unspecified narrator addressing 'dvijottamāḥ' (best of the twice-born)
Concept: Sacred knowledge includes ordered description and proportion; the cosmos is intelligible within dharmic narration.
Application: Value carefulness and exactness in one’s duties; let ‘measurement’ become a metaphor for self-regulation and steadiness.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: mountain
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A colossal golden-green mountain rises like a cosmic pillar, its slopes banded with forests and mineral strata. Tiny sage-figures at the base point upward as luminous numerals (yojana counts) float in the sky like mantra-letters, emphasizing sacred measurement rather than mundane cartography.","primary_figures":["cosmic Jambū-parvata (personified as a sacred mountain)","sage-narrator figure","listening dvijottamāḥ (small scale)"],"setting":"Mythic aerial panorama of Jambūdvīpa with the mountain dominating the horizon.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["burnished gold","moss green","slate blue","cloud white","copper brown"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: monumental Jambū-parvata rendered as a tiered sacred mountain with gold leaf highlights on mineral bands; miniature sages at the base; ornate frame with lotus and vine motifs; rich reds/greens with embossed gold to convey scale and sanctity.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: sweeping mountain panorama with delicate stippling for forests; soft mist layers; sages in the foreground listening as the narrator indicates the mountain’s breadth; cool blues and greens with gentle sunrise wash.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: stylized mountain with patterned mineral bands, bold outlines; narrator and dvijottamāḥ in profile with expressive eyes; warm yellow-red background gradient suggesting dawn; decorative cloud scrolls.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: the mountain as a central sacred motif surrounded by concentric floral borders; lotus medallions containing symbolic yojana numerals; deep indigo ground with gold and white linework, peacocks at corners for auspicious framing."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Bhupali","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["low drone (tanpura)","wind over high peaks (suggested)","soft bell punctuation","silence between numbers"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: षट्शतानि = षट् + शतानि; जंबुपर्वतः = जंबु + पर्वतः (समास)
FAQs
It presents a cosmographic measurement, stating the breadth (viṣkambha) of Jambu Mountain in yojanas, reflecting the Purana’s encyclopedic mapping of sacred/idealized world-structures.
Not directly; it is primarily descriptive geography/cosmography. In the Padma Purana, such passages often serve as context for sacred landscapes and the broader worldview in which devotional narratives unfold.
The verse mainly communicates scale and order in the Purāṇic universe; the implied lesson is attentiveness to śāstric description and the traditional framing of the cosmos rather than a direct moral injunction.